Put Power in Your Presentations by Measuring the Four R's

By Chakisse Newton, President, Cardinal Consulting, LLC

Unless you give presentations for a living, it can be difficult to evaluate your performance when you speak to a group. Even the ubiquitous 1-10 rating scales at meetings are more likely to describe how people felt about the room temperature than your speech content and delivery.

Use my Five R's to evaluate your presentations (both formal and informal) and learn how to take your performance to the next level:

1. Results. What did your presentation accomplish and did you achieve your objectives (to persuade, inform, inspire, entertain, etc.)?
2. Rapport. Did your audience like you and trust you? Rapport and audience connection are the number one predictors of your presentation's effectiveness.
3. Repeatability. Can the audience repeat your important points verbatim? Sound bites that your audience can remember and repeat make your impact last.
4. Reactions. What are the reactions of the people you trust? (Beware of trying to interpret body language and facial expressions as they are often misleading.)
   

Review your recording of your presentation to evaluate yourself and pay special attention to how your performance improves over time. If you can regularly improve on just one of the Four R's, you'll put more power in your presentations and keep audience hanging on your every wor

 © 2010 Chakisse Newton. All Rights Reserved.